Sheet Pan Roasted Vegetables and Haddock Fillet

After all the elaborated and fairly heavy dinners over the holidays, it felt like it’s time for some dishes with much lighter fare. Oven baked/roasted fish fillet and vegetables came to mind, and, soon after, I started preparing both. The idea was to have a fresh dish, without any heavy carbs or protein. So, as s start, I chose to use wild caught Haddock, a saltwater white fish, with firm texture, that can absorb flavors nicely. For the vegetables, I chose cauliflower, carrots and mini peppers.
The demand for light and fresh dish, does not mean it needs to be bland. Adding interesting, yet simple seasoning, to both fish and vegetables is the key: fresh lemon juice, spicy paprika, a bit of honey and mustard, found their way in, alongside herbs seasoning blends such as Za’atar and Trader Joe’s Green Goddess mix.
Both vegetables and fish were drizzled with extra virgin olive oil, and placed in the oven separately, as the vegetables need a much longer roasting time than the fish.
Once both were nicely roasted and tasty looking, they paired beautifully on the same plate, creating a colorful, tasty and healthy light dish. Try it and enjoy.

Notes:
* Alaea, Hawaiian red salt, is an unrefined sea salt that has been mixed with red alae volcanic clay. It’s great for roasting, and it adds an earthy flavor to the dish. It is available in specialty stores or online. If you can’t find it, replace it with any other coarse sea salt.
* Trader Joe’s Green Goddess seasoning is a mix of dried herbs, garlic and lemon oil. If you can’t find it, substitute with any other dried herbs seasoning mix.
* Za’atar is a Middle Eastern spice mix that contains hyssop, sumac and sesame seeds. I recommend the Israeli version which can be found HERE.
* The vegetables amount may seem like a lot, but bear in mind that any leftover can be used in many ways: as a base for quick salad, as a side dish, as an addition to pasta, or as a tasty filling for sandwiches.

Makes: 2-4
Prep time: 20 minutes
Roasting/baking time: for the vegetables: 1 hour; for the fish: 15 minutes

Ingredients:
For the vegetables:
1 medium cauliflower
4 medium carrots, peeled and cut into quarters
8 mini peppers, cut in half and deseeded
2 tsp Hawaiian Alaea salt (see notes)
1 tsp kosher salt
½ tsp freshly ground four peppers mix
¼ tsp hot paprika
2 Tbs fresh lemon juice
1 Tbs honey
3 Tbs olive oil
For the fish:
2 wild caught Haddock fillets, (4oz/113 grams each), frozen, thawed (I used Whole Foods’)
1 Tbs fresh lemon juice
½ tsp salt
1 tsp honey
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp finely grated lemon zest
1 Tbs Trader Joe’s Green Goddess blend (see notes) or any other herbs blend
1 tsp Za’ater (see notes)
10-12 cherry tomatoes, cut in half
3 Tbs olive oil
For serving:
Lemon wedges

1. Preheat the oven to 390F (200C). Line a large sheet pan with baking paper.
2. Discard the cauliflower leaves, and core, and separate into small florets. Place in a large bowl. Add the carrots, peppers, salt, pepper, paprika, lemon juice and honey. Mix well until the salt dissolves. Taste and adjust seasoning. Add the olive oil and mix again.
3. Arrange the vegetables in the baking paper, in one layer. Roast for 1 hour, until the vegetables are soft and slightly charred.
4. Meanwhile, prepare the fish: pat-dry the fillets with paper towels. Cut each fillet into 5 sections, and place, cut side up, in a small container, in one layer.
5. Drizzle the lemon juice over, and scatter the salt on top. Let sit for 5 minutes.
6. Line a medium baking pan with baking paper, and place the fish pieces on top, in one layer, leaving a bit of space between the pieces. Mix the honey, mustard and lemon zest, and spread a bit on each piece. Mix the Green Goddess and Za’ater, and scatter generously on top. Arrange the cherry tomatoes halves all around, and drizzle all with olive oil.
7. Towards the end of the roasting time of the vegetables, place the fish pan in the oven and roast for about 15 minutes, until the fish turns white and firm. Serve warm, with lemon wedges on the side.